Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a method of and
apparatus for bundling a relatively long article, such as a
slide fastener, a touch-and-close surface fastener or a
tape, with a bundling band.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
U. S. Pat. No. 4,610,124, issued Sep. 9, 1986 to
Watanabe, and U. S. Pat. No. 4,570,422, issued Feb. 18,
1986 to Watanabe, exemplify apparatus for automatically
bundling relatively short slide fasteners as received in
stack on a tray, to which the slide fasteners are
discharged successively and directly from a finishing
apparatus. As the prior apparatus could not be used for
relatively long slide fasteners such as for tents and bed
covers, it has hithert been a common practice to make each
finished long slide fastener compact by manually folding,
before discharging onto the tray for bundling. This manual
folding is laborious and time-consuming, and often causes
the bundled slide fastener to easily get out of shape.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide a method of and apparatus for bundling a relatively
long article, such as a slide fastener for tent, bed cover
and the like, with a bundling band highly efficiently and
neatly.
Another object of the invention is to provide a
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bundling apparatus for relatively long articles, which is
simple in construction and hence can be automated with
ease, thus causing an improved rate of production.
In the method and apparatus according to the present
invention, a relatively long article is wound on a take-up
reel and is then released onto a tray located immediately
below the take-up reel. On the tray, the wound article is
compressed in a folded and flat posture by a presser, and
is then bundled with a bundling band. The take-up reel is
provided wit~ means for driving same at a relatively high
speed during the regular winding operation and a relatively
low speed at the end of the winding of a particular particle,
when tbe trailing end thereof has reached the proximity of the
coil being wound.
Many other objects, features and additional
sdvantages of the present invention will become manifest to
those versed in the art upon making reference to the
detailed description and the accompanying sheets of
drawings in which preferred embodiments incorporating the
principles of the present invèntion are shown by way of
illustrative example.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of
an apparatus for bundling an elongated article according to
the present invention;
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FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the elongated article
bundled according to the present invention;
FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C are fragmentary perspective views
of a take-up reel for winding the elongated article,
showing the manner in which a leading end of the elongated
article is clamped;
FIG. 4 is a fragmeDtary perspective view of the
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take-up reel, showing the positions of support rods and a
clamp rod relative to a first disk of the take-up reel;
FIGS. 5A and 5B are fragmentary plan views of an
elongated slide fastener to be bundled according to the
present invention;
FIGS. 6A through 6D are schematic side elevational
views, partly in cross section, of the apparatus, showing
the manner in which the elongated article is wound on the
reel;
FIGS. 7A and 7B are schematic side elevational view,
with parts omitted, of the apparatus, showing the manner in
which the wound article is compressed into a flat and
folded posture;
FIGS. 8A through 8D are schematic side elevational
views of a bundling unit, showing the manner in which the
folded article is bundled; and
FIGS. 9 and 10 are side elevational views of modified
take-up reels.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 shows an apparatus for bundling a relatively
long or elongated flexible article (hereinafter referred to
as "elongated article") F such as a slide fastener with a
bundling band T (FIG. 2 and FIGS. 8A - 8D) of synthetic
resin such as polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride, or
laminated plastic of paper and synthetic resin. The
elongated article F may be a touch-and-close surface
fa~tener and other tape-like article.
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The apparatus generally comprises a take-up reel 1
for winding the elongated article F, a tray 30' disposed
below the take-up reel 1 for receiving the wound article F
in a flat and folded posture, and a bundling unit 20
disposed below the take-up reel 1 for bundling the folded
article F with the bundling band T.
The take-up reel 1 includes first, second and third
rotary disks 2, 3, 4 disposed in this order and mounted on
first, second and third horizontal concentric shafts 5, 6,
7, respectively. The second and third shafts 6, 7 are in
the form of tubes axially movable with respect to the first
shaft 5 so as to move the second and third disks 3, 4
toward and away from the first disk 2, for purposes
described below. The first disk 2 is operatively connected
with a drive through the first shaft 5, which drive is
drivable selectively at high and low speeds. The first
shaft 5 is frictionally connected with the drive so that
the latter can run idly when any undue resistance to
rotation is exerted on the first disk 2 and hence the first
shaft 5. The first and second disks 2, 3 are corotatable
with each other.
The first disk 2 has a plurality of holes 10 (six
holes are illustrated here) arranged at equal distance
along an imaginary circle that is concentric with the first
shaft 5. The first disk 2 has also an arcuate aperture 8
extending along the imaginary circle between an adjacent
pair of the holes 10, 10 and communicating therewith.
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A plurality of support rods 9 (six rods are
illustrated here1 are mounted on the second disk 3 at equal
distance along its peripheral edge. The support rods 9 are
projectable from and retractable into the respective holes
lO as the second disk 3 is moved toward and away from the
first disk 2 in response to the axial movement of the
second shaft 6. The elongated article F being supplied
from the take-up reel l via a guide 12 is progressively
wound around the support rods 9 while the latter project
through the holes lO in the first disk 2. The extent to
which the support rods 9 project from the first disk 2 may
be adjusted commensurate with the width of the elongated
article F to be wound around the support rods 9. Further,
the number of the support rods 9 may be varied as desired.
The third disk 4 has on its periphery a clamp rod ll
that is projectable through and retractable from the
arcuate aperture 8. The clamp rod ll serves, in
cooperation with one of the support rods 9, to clamp the
leading end Fo of the elongated article F at the beginning
` of the winding of the elongated article F.
Specifically, when the elongated article F is
supplied to the reel l to such an extent that its leading
end Fo extends over the nearest one of the support rods 9,
r, the second disk 4 is axially moved toward the first disk 2
so as to insert the clamp rod ll through the arcuate
aperture 8, as shown in FIG. 3A. With the leading end Fo
of the elongated article F e~tending over the nearest
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support rod 9, the clamp rod 11 is then moved along the
arcuate aperture 8 to clamp the leading end Fo of the
elongated article F with the cooperating support rod 9 as
the third disk 4 is rotated counterclockwise with respect
to the first and second disks 2, 3, as shown in FIGS. 3~,
3C and 6B. During this winding of the elongated article F,
the third disk 4 is corotatable with the first and second
disks 2, 3, as shown in FIG. 6C. At the end of the
winding, the clamp 11 is moved away from the cooperating
support rod 9 along the arcuate aperture 8 to release the
leading end Fo of the elongated article F, as shown in FIG.
7, as the third disk 4 is rotated clockwise with respect to
the first and second disks 2, 3. Upon release of the
leading end Fo of the elongated article F, the second and
third disks 3, 4 are axially moved away from the first disk
2 until the support rods 9 and the clamp rod 11 are
retracted into the holes 10 and the arcuate aperture 8,
respectively, as shown in FIG. 4. As a result, the wound
article F falls on the tray 30', where the wound article F
is bundled in a manner described below.
FIGS. 9 and 10 show modified take-up reels 1', ln.
In the take-up reel 1' of FIG. 9, the third disk 3 has two
additional clamp rods lla, llb which are projectable from
and retractable into two additional arcuate apertures 8a,
8b, respectively, of the first disk 2, each of the
additional arcuate apertures 8a, 8b, like the arcuate
aperture 8, extending between an adjacent pair of the holes
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10, 10. In the take-up reel 1" of FIG. 10, the third disk
4 has six clamp rods 11, lla, llb, llc, lld, lle which are
projectable from and retractable into six arcuate apertures
8, 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, 8e, respectively, of the first disk 2,
each of the arcuate apertures extending from one support
rod 10 toward the preceding support rod 10 and terminating
short thereof. With the modified take-up reel 1', 1", it
is possible to reduce the time in which the angular
position of the first disk 2 is to be adjusted for clamping
the leading end Fo of the elongated article F.
As shown in FIG. 1, a guide 12 is disposed upstream
of the take-up reel 1 on and along which guide the
;
elongated article F is fed out by means of a feed roller
12a. A stop 13 is disposed near the downstream end of the
guide 12 and is vertically movable toward and away from the
guide 12 by means of an air cylinder 14. The stop 13
serves to stop a slider S while the slide fastener F is
. progressively wound onto the take-up reel 1, as shown in
FIG. 6C. During that time, the slider S is moved from the
S position of FIG. 5A all the way up to the top end stops,
i.e. the position of FIG. 5B.
A guide plate 15 is disposed immediately downstream
of the guide 12 as an extension thereof and extends
horizontally across the imaginary circle along which the
support rods 9 are moved as the take-up reel 1 is in
winding operation. The elongated article F is introduced
along the guide plate 15 via a cutout 15a thereof into the
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take-up reel 1 so that the leading end Fo of the elongated
article F extends over one support rod 9 for being clamped
between the latter and the clamp rod 11. After completion
of the clamping operation of the reel 1 and before start of
the winding operation of the reel 1, the guide plate 15 is
retractable sideways from the first disk 2.
A pair of photoelectric tubes 16, 16 (FIGS. 6A and
6B) are mounted under the guide plate 15 for detecting the
arrival of the leading end Fo of the elongated article F at
the position in which the leading end Fo is to be clamped.
An air blow nozzle 17 is disposed above that position for
forcing air against the leading end Fo of the elongated
article F until the leading end Fo is bent down to the
hight path between the photoelectric tubes 16, 16, as shown
in FIG. 6B. With the air blow nozzle 17, the arrival of
the leading end Fo of the elongated article F can be
reliably detected by the photoelectric tubes 16. If the
elonqated article F is enough flexible to be bent freely,
the air blow nozzle 17 may be omitted.
A photoelectric tube 18 of reflection type is
disposed near the air blow nozzle 17 for detecting the
arrival of the trailing end of the elongated article F at
the take up reel 1, as shown in FIG. 6D. Upon this
detection, the rotation of the first disk 2 and hence the
winding of the elongated article F is terminated so that
its trailing end will be disposed at a predetermined
position on the upper side of the article F as the latter
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is flattened and folded (FIG. 7B).
The bundling unit 20 includes a presser 19 (FIGS. 1,
7A, 7B and 8A) which is normally disposed above the take-up
reel 1 and is retractably downwardly movable, in response
to the release of the wound article F from the take-up reel
1, toward the bottom plate 32 of the tray 30' for
compressing the wound article F into a Elat and folded
posture, as shown in FIGS. 7B and 8A.
As shown in FIGS. 8A - 8D, the bundling unit 20 also
includes a reel (not shown) supporting a roll of continuous
band web T, a band web guide 21 through which the band web
T is to be fed out across the tray 30' from one side
thereof, a clamp 26 disposed at the other side of the tray
30' for clamping a leading end of the band web T, an upper
pusher 22 disposed below the band web guide 21 and
retractably movable toward the clamp 26 for pushing a first
.
.: portion (remote from the leading end) of the band web T
~` into the clamp 26, and a cutter 47 disposed behind the
' clamp 26 and retractably movable toward the clamp 26 into a
slit 23 of the upper pusher 22 for cutting the band web T
at the first portion to thereby provide an individual
; bundling band T.
The bundling unit 20 further includes a lower pusher
25 disposed below the upper pusher 22 and retractably
movable toward a lower anvil 29 below the clamp 26 for
: pushing a pair of spaced second portions (between the
leading end and the first portion) of the band web T
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against the lower anvil 29 to thereby surround the folded
article F, and an ultrasonic horn 28 disposed between the
clamp 26 and the lower anvil 29 for fusing or welding the
band web T as the latter is clamped between the ultrasonic
horn 28 and an upper anvil 22, which is integral with the
upper pusher 22 and hence retractably movable toward the
ultrasonic horn 28. As shown in FIG. 8D, the bottom plate
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32 of the tray 30' is movable sideways (rightwardly) to
provide a discharge opening 33 through which the bundled
article P is to be discharged.
The mode of operation of the apparatus described
above will now be explained as the slide fastener is used
as the elongated article F.
At the start of operation of the apparatus, as shown
in FIGS. 1 and 6A, the first disk 2 is positioned in such
an angular position that the arcuate aperture 8 is disposed
near the guide 12. The second disk 3 is disposed close to
the first disk 2, with the support rods 9 projecting from
the front surface of the first disk 2. The third disk 4 is
disposed remotely from the first disk 2 so that the clamp
rod 11 is retracted in the arcuate aperture 8 remotely from
the guide 12, as shown in FIG. 3A. The guide plate 15 also
is disposed close to the front surface of the first disk 2.
The stop 13 is in its raised position. Meanwhile, in the
bundling unit 20, a predetermined length of the band web T
is unreeled into the tray 30' in a substantially U shape
with its free end clamped by the clamp 26, as shown in FIG.
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1. The upper and lower pushers 22, 25 the upper and lower
anvils 24, 29 and the ultrasonic horn 28 are in their
retracted positions, as shown in F~G. 8A. Further, the
bottom plate 32 of the tray 30' is in closed position.
When the elongated slide fastener F is supplied via
the guide 12 and the guide plate 15 toward the take-up reel
1 to such an extent that the leading end Fo extends over
the nearest support rod 9 (FIG. 6A), a jet air from the air
blow nozzle 17 causes the leading end Fo to bend downwardly
until it interrupts the light path between the two
- photoelectric tubes 16, 16, as shown in FIG. 6B. Thus the
arrival of the leading end Fo of the slide fastener F has
been detec~ed.
Upon this detection, the third disk 4 is moved close
to the first disk 2 so as to cause the clamp rod 11 to
project from the front surface of the first disk 2, and the
third disk 4 is then rotated counterclockwise so as to
cause the clamp rod 11 to move toward the nearest support
rod 9 until the leading end Fo of the slide fastener F is
clamped between the support rod 9 and the clamp rod 11, as
shown in FIGS. 3A - 3C and 6B.
c Upon completion of the clamping of the leading end Fo
of the slide fastener F, the guide plate 15 is retracted
sideways (leftwardly in FIG. 1) so that the take-up reel 1
can be rotated for winding the slide fastener F. At the
same time, the stop 13 is lowered toward the upper surface
of the slide fastener F on the guide 12, as shown in FIG.
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6B. Then the first shaft 5 and hence the first disk 2 is
driven clockwise at high rate of rotation to wind the slide
fastener F around the support rods 9, during which time the
slider S blocked by the stop 13 is moved relative to the
slide fastener F all the way up to the top end stops, as
shown in FIGS. 5B and 6C. As a result, supply of the slide
fastener F is temporarily halted, and slacks in the wound
slide fastener F are eliminated as the non-illustrated
drive for the first shaft 5 of the first disk 2 runs idly.
Subsequently, the driving of the take-up reel 1 is
switched over to a low rate of rotation and, at the same
time, the stop 13 is raised to release the slider S, thus
allowing the trailing end portion of the slide fastener F
to be wound onto the reel 1, as shown in FIG. 6D. When the
arrival of the trailing end of the slide fastener F at the
take-up reel 1 is detected by the reflection-type
photoelectric tube 18 (FIG. 6D), the rotation of the
take-up reel 1 is terminated.
Upon termination of rotation of the take-up reel 1,
the second and third disks 3, 4 are moved away from the
first disk 1 to bring the support rods 9 and the clamp rod
11 to their retracted positions (FIG. 4 ), thus allowing the
wound slide fastener F to fall onto the bottom plate 32 of
the tray 30' centrally across the relaxed band web T (FIG.
8A). Then the presser 19 is lowered by an air cylinder l9a
(FIG. 1) to compress the wound slide fastener F in a flat
and folded posture, as shown in FIGS. 7B and 8~. After
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compression, the presser l9 is returned to its raised
position.
Then, the upper pusher 22 is moved forwardly to push
the first portion of the band web T forcibly into the clamp
26 (FIG. 8B), bringing the upper anvil 24 toward the
ultrasonic horn 28. At the same time, the lower pusher 25
also is moved forwardly to push the second portions of the
band web T against the lower anvil 29, thus surrounding the
folded slide fastener F by the band web T.
Finally, as shown in FIG. 8C, the cutter 27 is moved
forwardly into the slot 23 of the upper pusher 22 to cut
the band web T, and at the same time, the ultrasonic horn
28 is moved forwardly to press the band web T against the
upper anvil 24, thereby fusing or welding the band web T at
portions immediately above the second portions. Upon
completion of the cutting and the welding, the upper and
lower pushers 22, 25, the cutter 27 and the ultrasonic horn
28 are returned to their original or retracted positions
(FIG. 8D), releasing the folded slide fastener T bundled by
the bundling band T. As a result a bundled article P has
been obtained. As the bottom plate 32 of the tray 30' is
moved sideways to provide a discharge opening 33, the
bundled article P is discharged through the opening 33.
Thus a single cycle of the operation of the bundling
apparatus has been completed.
Illustrated by dash-and-dot lines in FIG. 8D is a
fresh length of the band web T having been unreeled for use
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in bundling a succeeding slide fastener F.
Although, in the illustrated embodiment, the
elongated article F is a slide fastener having a slider S
to be blocked by the stop 13 during the winding, it may be
a touch-and-close surface fastener or other tape-like
garment article, which do not have a slider or similar
part. In such alternative case, a trailing end of the
article may be detected at the guide 12 by a suitable means
such as a photoelectric tube, and the stop 13 may be
lowered, in response to such detection, to temporarily halt
the movement of the article. Otherwise, in response to such
detection, the drive for the first shaft 5 and hence the
first disk 2 may be switched over rom high-speed driving
to low-speed driving.
For bundling a single elongated article at spaced
portions with two separate bands T, T, two identical
bundling units 20, 20 may be set below the take-up reel 1.
According to the present invention, since the article
is wound and then folded flat prior to the bundling, it is
possible to bundle even the relatively long article with
maximum ease. Further, because the winding of the article
is switched over from high speed to low speed immediately
before the trailing end of the article leaves the guide,
and because the winding of the article is terminated so
` that the trailing end of the article will be disposed at
the upper side of the article when the latter is folded
flat, the article can be bundled efficiently and neatly
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without getting out of shape. Moreover, the bundling
apparatus is simple in construction and hence can be
automated with ease, causing an improved rate of
production.
Although various minor modifications may be suggested
by those versed in the art, it should be understood that I
wish to embody within the scope of the patent granted
hereon, all such embodiments as reasonably and properly
come within the scope of my contribution to the art.
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